Drainage balloon catheter having means for antiseptic treatment of the urethra



y 0, 1968 D. J. ABRAMSON 3,394,705

DRAINAGE BALLOON CATHETER HAVING MEANS FOR ANTISEPTIC TREATMENT OF THE URETHRA Filed Oct. 22. 1965 H6 2 6" FIG. 3

f DANIEL J. ABRAMSON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,394,705 DRAlNAGE BALLOON CATHETER HAVING MEANS FOR ANTISEPTIC TREATMENT OF THE URETHRA Daniel J. Abramson, 2800 Greenval St., Chevy Chase, Md. 20015 Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 501,687 Claims. (Cl. 128-649) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A catheter for draining either a male or female bladder comprising a small diameter tube for loosely fitting within and of sufficient length to pass entirely through the urethra, said tube having bore and outside diameters of substantially contant sizes and being open at its distal end for entrance of fluid to be drained from the bladder, an inflatable bag positioned very close to the distal end of the tube and adapted to seat wholly within the bladder, a chamber for antiseptic fluid encircling the tube and spaced slightly outwardly of said bag and extending only a very short distance lengthwise of the tube, said chamber being provided with small apertures to permit circumferential escape of an antiseptic fluid for fine spray irrigation of the urethra in the region immediately adjacent the bladder, and first and second passageways within said tube separate from said tube bore and extending from the proximal end of the tube to and communicating with said inflatable bag and chamber.

This invention relates to improvements in catheters and more particularly to a catheter provided with means for irrigating the region of a connecting body passage just outside the cavity adapted to be drained by a conventional catheter. The improved catheter also permits drainage of infected fluid or other matter from said region with or without the application of suction.

With the standard Foley retention catheter, or any conventional catheter, inserted into the bladder via the urethra there is an accumulation of exudate about the catheter portion residing in the urethra. This exudate is rich in protein and is an excellent culture medium for the introduction of infection from outside the body to involve the urinary tract, including the bladder, ureter and kidney or accessory append-ages such as the prostate and seminal vesicles. Currently, there is no means of ridding the urethra of this exudate nor provision made for irrigation and instillation of antiseptics or antibiotics.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved catheter which will overcome the above stated disadvantages of conventional catheters.

Another important object of the invention is to provide an improved catheter which will enable drainage and irrigation of infectious matter from the body of a patient in the region outside the body cavity being drained by the catheter bore.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide an improved catheter tube incorporating a passageway separate from the catheter bore and extending to a region spaced from the distal end in which region the passageway is closed except to communication with the exterior surface of the catheter tube.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved catheter, of the above described characteristics which presents a smooth external surface of substantially constant diameter to ease insertion and withdrawal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a catheter having an inflatable retention bag and provided with passage means leading to the exterior of the tube in the region adjacent the inflatable bag and opposite the distal end of the tube for irrigating and draining infectious matter from a body tract outside the cavity being drained by the bore of the tube.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved catheter which is easy and economical to make, easy to use and etficient to perform its intended function.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a catheter according to the invention inserted in position ready to drain the bladder of a patient;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the improved catheter;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1 and having a portion of the tube broken away to reveal internal details; and

FIGS. 47 are enlarged sections taken on lines 4-4, 5-5, 66, and 77 of FIG. 2, respectively, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, an improved catheter 10, according to the invention, is shown in FIG. 1 positioned with its distal end 12 and inflated bag 14 within a patients bladder 16 ready to drain the bladder. Frequently the catheter must remain so positioned for long periods of time extending into days and even weeks. During such periods infected fluids accumulate in the urethra adjacent the retention bag 14 and just outside the bladder in the region referenced 18. From this region the infection may spread internally. My improved catheter enables the infected region 18 to be irrigated by injection of antiseptics and antibiotics through the small openings 20 without removal of the catheter. Further, the infected fluids may be drained through said openings with or without the application of suction.

FIGS. 27 disclose the construction of my improved catheter as comprising a tube 22 of substantial length terminating at its distal end 12 in a closed, hardened and rounded tip and having a bore 24 extending the full length and communicating with the exterior at the tip 12 by a number of apertures 26. Immediately below the apertures as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3 is a retention bag 14 adapted to receive a fluid for inflating the bag after insertion in the cavity to be drained. Such fluid is applied through the tubing 34 which extends from the proximal end of tube 22 to bag 14 and which is integrally formed, or bonded, to the internal bore surface of tube 22. As thus far described the catheter has substantially the construction of a conventional Foley retention catheter. The major improvement to the conventional device involves the formation of an internal chamber 28 just below the bag 14 and having openings 20 in the wall of tube 22 communicating with the exterior of the tube in the region 18 which lies outside the bladder or other body cavity being drained. Preferably the openings 20 are uniformly spaced in a spiral so that irrigation and drainage through them will be uniform. The outside surface of tube 22 remains smooth in the region 18 so as not to form inaccessible pockets or irriate the body tissue.

The interior Wall of chamber 28 is formed of a second tube 32 of smaller external diameter than the bore 24 and provided with integral upper and lower annular flanges 36 and 38 which are integrally formed or bonded 'with bore surface of tube 22. The closed chamber 28 thus formed is fed with antiseptics, antibiotics and the like through passageway 40 formed of a tube similar to tube 34 and similarly integrated within the wall of tube 22. Passage 40 has an outlet 42 through the wall of tube 32 near its bottom serving as an inlet to chamber 28. The passage 34 is continued upwardly in FIG. 3 along the inside of the tube 32 to an inlet opening 44 through tube 22 into the bag 14.

The improved catheter may be formed of rubber plastic or other materials as conventional in the art by molding, extruding, vulcanizing and other known techniques. A simple way to make the catheter is to form the tube 22 of constant bore with tip 12 and apertures 26 and 20 with added bag 14 and passage tubing 34 by conventional molding process. The tube 32 with integral flanges 36 and 38 may then be slipped into tube 22, positioned correctly and vulcanized or otherwise bonded thereto at the flanges. Alternatively, a conventional catheter may be formed in longitudinal sections and the tubing in region 18, FIG. 3 enclosing chamber 28 slipped between and bonded to adjacent sections.

The manner of using the described catheter is obvious. The catheter is inserted to drain the bladder as shown in FIG. 1, tubin'gs 34 and 40 being closed by stoppers 46 and tube 22 being connected to a drain or suction pipe 47. Periodically, or when found to be necessary, the surgeon may remove stopper 46 and apply suction to tubing 40 for removal of infected matter from the urethra in region 18 outside the bladder. As necessary an antiseptic fluid may be injected through tubing 40 to irrigate the same region and prevent the spread of infection. If desired, fluid may be allowed to drain through tubing 40 without suction.

While the described catheter has for illustration been directed to an urethral catheter, obviously it is applicable with but slight modification to catheters of other types for treatment of cavities other than the bladder.

Although a certain specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is obvious that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A catheter for draining either a male or female bladder, comprising a small diameter tube of resilient material to loosely fit within and of sufficient length to pass entirely through the urethra for insertion into the bladder, said tube having bore and external cross-sections of substantially constant size throughout its length and being open at its distal end for entrance of fluid to be drained from the bladder, an inflatable bag secured to said tube very close to its distal end and adapted to seat wholly within the bladder upon insertion of the tube and inflation of the bag, a chamber for antiseptic fluid encircling said tube spaced slightly toward the proximal end of the tube from said bag, said chamber being positionable wholly within the urethra in the area near the bladder neck and extending for only a very short distance lengthwise of the tube, small apertures in the wall of said chamber and completely about the chamber to permit circumferential escape of an antiseptic fluid to the exterior of said chamber and tube for fine spray irrigation of the urethra in the region immediately adjacent the bladder, and first and second passageways Within said tube separate from each other and said tube bore and extending from the proximal end of the tube to and communicating with said inflatable bag and chamber respectively, whereby irrigation of the urethra in the space surrounding said tube can be performed simultaneously with drainage of the bladder through said tube, While said inflated bag is held within the bladder against the bladder neck to seal against passage of the antiseptic fluid into the bladder.

2. A catheter according to claim 1 wherein said first and second passageways each has a cross-sectional area much smaller than that of the bore of said tube.

3. A catheter according to claim 1 wherein said passageways are within the Wall of the tube leaving a smooth exterior surface on the tube.

4. A catheter according to claim 1 wherein said chamber is enclosed between the Wall of the tube and a short second tube of smaller cross-section positioned within the first tube, said first and second tubes being bonded to each other at both ends of the second tube.

5. A catheter according to claim 4 wherein said second tube has outwardly projecting circumferential end flanges integrally bonded to the inner surface of the first tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 256,590 4/1882 Pfarre 128-349 386,603 4/1888 Parsons l28-240 1,602,215 10/1926 Smith 12824O 2,257,369 9/1941 Davis 128-349 2,547,758 4/ 1951 Keeling 128--3,49 2,854,982 10/1958 Pagano 128-348 FOREIGN PATENTS 462,423 1/ 1914 France.

42,157 1/1888 Germany.

DALTON L. TRULUCK, Primary Examiner. 

